The tsunami that struck the shores of northern Sumatra on December 26, 2004, brought the Indonesian province of Aceh to the world's attention. The cataclysmic event also proved to be a turning point in the convoluted political relationship between the province and the central government in Jakarta. Elizabeth F. Drexler skillfully traces the history of the events that preceded and followed this disaster and analyzes the political consequences for the future stability of both Aceh and the Republic of Indonesia. In the course of doing so, she examines the role of international humanitarian agencies that take it upon themselves to intervene in the affairs of developing countries.
For several years before the tsunami struck, the Indonesian government had been engaged in a campaign of military repression designed to bring the Acehnese to heel. This was only the latest in a cycle of such campaigns in which violence alternated with periods...
